Meet the class of 2019-2020 Student Upstanders!

Alexandra Lafayette
Alexandra Lafayette is a junior at John Carroll University where she majors in peace, justice, and human rights with a minor in political science. At John Carroll, Alexandra works as a peace, justice, and human rights (PJHR) program student ambassador and serves as the Head of Communications for the LGBTQIA+ Allies student organization. So far, in her undergraduate career, she has also been a participant in the PJHR Northern Ireland Peace building Program, served as a lobbyist for the Jesuit Refugee Services, and presented research on Libyan Jewish cultural rights in regards to the 2018 Libya/United States Memorandum of Understanding. As a Student Upstander, Alexandra is excited to continue her lifelong commitment to upholding human rights, promoting restorative justice, and doing everything possible to hold governments accountable for the treatment of their people.

Alison Rogers
Alison is a junior at Baylor University studying journalism, international studies, and French. This is her third year with the program, and she is the STAND Advocacy Lead for Texas. Alison is especially interested in narratives around conflict and in making space for survivors to tell their stories. This year, Alison looks forward to growing partnerships with different campus organizations.

Amini Bonane
As a 2nd year student upstander; Amini Bonane is looking forward to amplifying and elevating the voice of the suffering, until the rest of the world has no choice but to take action.
I study Finance Philosophy and Law at George Mason University and Corporate Finance at Harvard University. I am a serial social entrepreneur with several organizations that share one goal, to make a difference. I am so proud of the foundation the Mason Conflict Free Campus Initiative team and I laid last year. This year I hope to realize our dream, of making George Mason University, the first conflict free school in Virginia.

Ashley Norman
Ashley Norman started college heavily interested in Anthropology and African Studies. I travelled to Ghana in 2009 and graduated with my degree in Anthropology in 2011. Much of my undergrad coursework emphasized social science topics and global inequality. One of my research assignments was on the mining and trade with the Chinese in the DRC. In my spare time, I read about conflict in Africa along with other topics in international affairs. I am currently getting my Master of Science in Nonprofit Management to easily change job industries.

Dayii Elfayous
Dayii Elfayous is a sophomore at the George Washington University majoring in Political Science and minoring in Music. Dayii has grown up helping her mother operate Ani-Sa Foundation, an organization founded for the purpose of donating school supplies, clothes, and medical instruments to youth in Western Equatoria, South Sudan. As a student upstander, Dayii hopes to raise awareness about South Sudanese politics while promoting an end to crimes against humanity and tribalism in South Sudan.

Diing Lual
Diing Lual is a sophomore at The George Washington University, majoring in systems engineering and a minor in economics. Diing grew up as a refugee in Kakuma refugee camp, located in northern part of Kenya. She fled South Sudan when she was young because of war. Diing hopes that being a Student Up-stander will assist her in promoting awareness about the challenges that the victims of war go through in the struggle for survival and making ends meet. She is excited to share her personal experiences and believes that it will help in coming up with policies to combat violence against humanity; and spread awareness about the challenges it brings them.

Ellen Bresnick
Ellen Bresnick is currently a sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis double majoring in Political Science and African and African American Studies. Ellen has worked with the Enough Project since her sophomore year in high school. During that time she successfully passed a resolution advocating for positive investment in companies that have taken action against conflict minerals in their supply chains. Some of her academic interests center around international law as it relates to resource governance during times of armed conflict and external interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa during decolonization.As a Student Upstander, she looks forward to continuing to engage fellow students on campus and raising awareness about atrocities occurring around the world.

Eva Jacroux
Eva Jacroux is a sophomore at the University of Washington. She is currently pursuing a degree in political science, and hopes to specialize in international security. Eva’s has always prioritized her commitment to community service. In her time in college, she has used this dedication to combat the homelessness crisis in Seattle through nonprofits and the social service programs provided by Seattle government. Her passion has recently expanded past local issues, and Eva has spent this past summer canvassing for Amnesty International and speaking up for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers. This experience has strengthened her belief in the importance of accountability in government, and the power of advocacy in the face of opposing interests. She hopes to use this passion to engage with corruption abroad, and demand accountability on a global scale.

Hannah Kuriakose
Hannah Kuriakose is a junior at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and is double-majoring in International Studies (Norms, Security, and Cooperation) and Environmental Law and Policy with a minor in Writing. In 2018 while interning at Freedom House Detroit in 2018, an asylum for refugees, she heard about the Enough Project and resonated with its mission immediately. She continues her advocacy efforts as a Senior Research Project Manager for an Indigenous Project at the Institute for Social Research, with a specific focus in South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia. With an ultimate aim to work in international policy and understand human rights through socio- environmental factors, she is excited to advocate in the area of peace and conflict resolution as a Student Upstander.

Johan Mufuta
Johan is a senior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Illinois where he is majoring in Computer Engineering. He moved from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with
his entire family at the end of 2014. While looking for an internship in the tech industry, Johan learned about the work of Enough Project. He used the Enough Project conflict minerals company ranking to pick his top companies. He enjoys talking about his country to his friends in order to bring awareness to the tragedy happening. He still follows closely the political arena in the Congo. This year, Johan was a speaker in a small class at Parkland College in order to bring some insights about the 2018 elections in DRC. Johan enjoys playing video games and reading mangas.